Affliction Warlock PvE Guide - Wrath Classic (WOTLK)

Wrath Classic (WOTLK) Affliction Warlock Rotation

Affliction Warlocks become a true DoT specialization in Wrath of the Lich King, with access to new tools such as
Haunt
, and the new interaction of
Drain Soul
during execute phases. They excel in situations where they can apply dots on multiple enemies, and continue to be a reliable source of AoE damage thanks to
Seed of Corruption
.

Opener

1. Cast
   Life Tap
   for
   Glyph of Life Tap
   pre-pull.
2. Pre-pot
   Potion of Wild Magic
   .
3. Pre-cast
   Shadow Bolt
   to apply
   Improved Shadow Bolt
   if assigned.
4. Cast
   Haunt
   .
5. Cast
   Unstable Affliction
   .
6. Cast
   Corruption
   .
7. Cast
   Curse of Agony
   .
8. Cast
   Shadow Bolt
   .
9. Perform normal priorities.

Single Target

1. Use
   Summon Felhunter
   .
2. Cast
   Inferno
   if available and the rest of the fight will not last longer than 1 minute.
3. Maintain
   Improved Shadow Bolt
   debuff if assigned. This means you might need to cast
   Shadow Bolt
   every now and then during your execute phase.
4. Maintain
   Curse of the Elements
   if assigned.
5. Maintain
   Corruption
   .
   Drain Soul
   ,
   Shadow Bolt
   , and
   Haunt
   will take care of this with
   Everlasting Affliction
   .
6. Maintain
   Glyph of Life Tap
   buff.
7. Refresh
   Corruption
   manually when the target reaches 35% health so it benefits from
   Death's Embrace
   .
8. Maintain
   Haunt
   . Keep in mind this spell has a travel time.
9. Maintain
   Unstable Affliction
   . Let it expire before you re-apply it.
10. Maintain
    Curse of Agony
    . Let it expire before you re-apply it.
11. Cast
    Drain Soul
    on targets 25% HP or below. You should interrupt
    Drain Soul
    right after one of its 5 ticks to maintain your DoTs if they are about to expire.
12. Cast
    Shadow Bolt
    .

AoE

For 1 or 2 additional targets

• Maintain
  Corruption
  ,
  Unstable Affliction
  , and
  Curse of Agony
  on all of them.
• Maintain
  Haunt
  on highest priority target.
• Cast
  Shadow Bolt
  or
  Drain Soul
  .

For large pulls:

• Cast
  Shadowflame
  if targets are close enough.
• Cast
  Seed of Corruption
  .

Snapshotting

1. Snapshotting is a term where abilities "snapshot" certain buffs and debuffs such as Percentage Damage Modifiers (
   Tricks of the Trade
   ,
   Death's Embrace
   ,
   Shadow Weaving
   , etc), and Critical Strike (
   Potion of Wild Magic
   ,
   Moonkin Form
   ,
   Improved Shadow Bolt
   , etc) at the time it was casted. Technically all of the caster's stats will be snapshotted, but the one's mentioned previously are the only one's that persist for DoTs that are not refreshed manually such as
   Shadow Word: Pain
   ,
   Corruption
   for Affliction Warlocks, and
   Serpent Sting
   for Survival Hunters. The reason this is important for Affliction Warlocks is because they never refresh their
   Corruption
   after applying it since
   Drain Soul
   ,
   Shadow Bolt
   , and
   Haunt
   will take care of this with
   Everlasting Affliction
   . This is why you also re-apply
   Corruption
   manually when the target reaches 35% health so it benefits from
   Death's Embrace
   .

Wrath Classic (WOTLK) Affliction Warlock Talents

Standard Build

Wrath Classic (WOTLK) Affliction Warlock Glyphs

Major:
Haunt
,
Quick Decay
,
Life Tap
Minor:
Drain Soul
,
Enslave Demon
,
Souls

Wrath Classic (WOTLK) Affliction Warlock Stats

Hit Cap

• 10% (263 Rating) with
  Heroic Presence
  ,
  Suppression
  , and
  Misery
  or
  Improved Faerie Fire
• 11% (289 Rating) with
  Suppression
  and
  Misery
  or
  Improved Faerie Fire
• 13% (342 Rating) with
  Heroic Presence
  and
  Suppression
• 14% (368 Rating) with
  Suppression

Wrath Classic (WOTLK) Affliction Warlock Best Consumables

Flasks and Elixirs

Best:
• Flask of the Frost Wyrm

Alternatives:
• Spellpower Elixir
  ,
• Elixir of Spirit

Food

Best:
• Fish Feast
  ,
• Tender Shoveltusk Steak
  ,
• Firecracker Salmon

Alternatives:
• Great Feast
  ,
• Dalaran Clam Chowder
  ,
• Shoveltusk Steak
  ,
• Smoked Salmon
  ,
• Snapper Extreme
  ,
• Worg Tartare

Potions

Best:
• Pre-pot
  Potion of Wild Magic
  ,
• In Combat
  Potion of Speed

Miscellaneous

Best:
• Spiced Mammoth Treats
• Dark Rune
  or
  Demonic Rune

Wrath Classic (WOTLK) Affliction Warlock Best Races

Alliance

1. Human:
   The Human Spirit
2. Gnome:
   Expansive Mind

Horde

1. Orc:
   Blood Fury
2. Blood Elf:
   Arcane Torrent

Wrath Classic (WOTLK) Affliction Warlock Best Professions

1. Engineering: Best profession thanks to
   Nitro Boosts
   ,
   Hyperspeed Accelerators
   ,
   Springy Arachnoweave
   enchants,
   Global Thermal Sapper Charge
   , and
   Visage Liquification Goggles
   for early gearing.
2. Tailoring: Second best profession thanks to
   Lightweave Embroidery
   .
3. Jewelcrafting: Third best profession thanks to the 3 unique gems such as
   Runed Dragon's Eye
   and
   Rigid Dragon's Eye
   .
4. Blacksmithing: Fourth best profession during phases 3+ thanks to
   Socket Bracer
   and
   Socket Gloves
   .
5. Leatherworking, Enchanting, Inscription, and Alchemy: All provide comparable stat bonuses with
   Fur Lining - Spell Power
   ,
   Ring - Greater Spell Power
   ,
   Master's Inscription of the Storm
   , and
   Mixology
   respectively.
6. Skinning:
   Master of Anatomy
   .